Richard N. Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations, previously served as Director of Policy Planning for the US State Department (2001-2003), and was President George W. Bush's special envoy to Northern Ireland and Coordinator for the Future of Afghanistan. His forthcoming book is A Wor…read more

Comments

Europe and East Asia are the keys to American security and to world peace. Too much American blood, time and treasure have been wasted in pursuit of anything in the "Muddle" East. Let them do unto each other and to themselves - and the US should keep out of it. Read more

The folly that informed the American invasion and occupation of Iraq was a very clear indication that American leadership in the international system had lost its moorings. The 'unraveling' of the Middle East has made clear that the American role in forging a new international order would require astute and engaged leadership. Any volunteers? Read more

It may behoove Trump, or staff (if ....and I won't even tiptoe thru all those "ifs") to read:https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9183/europe-migrant-revolutionThe social/political issues because of migrant inundationis paramount, and needs to be approached and communicated publicly in an even tone, by individuals who are immediately aware of the effects. The US foreign and domestic policies need to be translated from the type of posturing, specifally informative and sincere thought that is communicated in the article by Yves Mamou. The US will not be able to survive as a nation-state, while most of its citizens are having and continuing to walk around and through BS. Read more

I think Trump's Cabinet selections provide strong evidence that, contrary to the author's contention, we should assume the way Trump conducted his campaign will dictate how he approaches governing. Read more

"Campaigning and governing are two very different activities, and there is no reason to assume that how Trump conducted the former will dictate how he approaches the latter."

To the extent that one's campaign exhibits one's character, and to the extent that character counts in the Oval Office -- this is patent Bulls.. nonsense.

Is the inability to recognize that character really does count perhaps an issue in need of correction in the State Department? Where "F... the EU" and "We came, we saw, he's dead" seem to have become and accepted coin of American diplomatic attitudes?

Yes, there's a lot of speculation about Trump's foreign policy -- if he has one. But just about everyone seems to be very clear about his character. Some will try to exploit it, whatever degree of hypocrisy that may involve (see Governor Nikki Haley for the exemplar) , some will try to avoid it, but most will end up being a victim of it. Read more

The author writes "Other governments would be smart to do more than watch and wait for the new US administration to sort itself out. Allies need to consider what more they might do on behalf of common defense. "

I'd suggest to Mr Haass that's far from clear to non-Americans that the new government can be trusted or is indeed even prepared to act as an ally. They have a great deal to do to demonstrate their good faith. Is Mr Haass even aware that a prominent UK bookmaker (Ladbrokes, I believe) is offering quite short odds on Donald Trump being impeached in the course of his first term? The US is currently viewed as something of a diplomatic leper by much of the world. That may be unduly alarmist, but smugly advising us that we need to "do our bit" is supremely unhelpful. The US has long had a bad case of self-righteousness in its makeup, and it's caused a lot of trouble (Iraq, most recently). I'd deal with my case of it, if I were Mr Haass. Read more

Readers should understand that Mr. Haas is a sort of foreign policy leader manque, really just a pitch-perfect echo of the imperial anthems of conservative Washington's pretese to authority and control. Read more

Concerning Turkey,the situation might not be more complicated than few months before. At that time US had lost lot of ground at the area, but Kurds and Baghdad victories alter the situation in favor of them. The prospects are now clear: If the US supports Kurds they will gain a significant stronghold with benefits never counted before (perhaps the energy routes are the most significant ones and perhaps include the central caucasus too); of course they will lose a strong NATO ally, but that ally has now been proved unreliable. The complications for Putin will be unmanageable and ultra conflicting. What can Putin do then? If US choose to stay closer to Erdogan then the pressure will be transfered to them. Read more

Dear Mr. Haass,I got a theory:Simply put, there is another balance, between moral and existential activity. Currently the dominating side is fast shifting to existential activity. This comes with a general problem. Existential activity tends to be mutually ignorant and damaging. Spiralling, eventually with nukes. A rule of thumb to take this harmful element out of the often necessary activity:"Subgroup liberation demands fairness and compensation."There is more in my account's biography. Read more

".. Middle East ... unraveling. Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Libya are all dealing with a mix of civil and proxy wars."

How exactly did those situations happen? Is it not relevant to this discussion?

"By running on a platform of 'America first' " ...

Ahem. Maybe I remember wrong, but wasn't it neo-Con rejection or cooption of genuine internationalist efforts are the reason for much of the foreign policy problems we now face?

While I am very skeptical of whether Trump will be an improvement over his predecessors, it is important to recognize that the Clinton-Bush-Obama continuum of American Exceptionalism is precisely what brought us to where we are today. And by Exceptionalism, I don't mean exceptionally gifted, I mean exempt-from-the-rules-that-others-ought-to-follow. In this regard, the prognosis from Trump is probably more of the same, just as it would've been with Clinton.

PS On Air: The Super Germ Threat

NOV 2, 2016

In the latest edition of PS On
Air
, Jim O’Neill discusses how to beat antimicrobial resistance, which
threatens millions of lives, with Gavekal Dragonomics’ Anatole Kaletsky
and Leonardo Maisano of
Il Sole 24 Ore.

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